FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feburary 4, 2021
Contact: Mina Miller, Artistic Director; Steve Griggs, Administrator
(206) 365-7770
info@musicofremembrance.org
www.musicofremembrance.org

MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE TO RECEIVE $20,000 GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 

Seattle, WA—Music of Remembrance has been approved for a $20,0000 Art Works grant to support the commission of “Tres Minutos,” a new chamber opera by the young composer Nicolas Lell Benavides and librettist Marella Martin Koch. Overall, the National Endowment for the Arts has approved 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category.

The Art Works grants support arts projects that use the arts to unite and heal in response to current events; celebrate our creativity and cultural heritage; invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values; and enrich humanity.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from Music of Remembrance,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “Music of Remembrance is among the arts organizations across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year.” 

The one-act opera “Tres Minutos” tells the story of Nila and Diego, a sister and brother who share family bonds but not citizenship. Allowed a brief supervised reunion at the US-Mexico border that separates them, they wrestle with questions of identity, duty and belonging. The opera avoids easy answers, and instead explores the intimate human dimensions of an important issue for our time.

The opera will premiere in May 2022 at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, followed by a performance in San Francisco. It will be combined with public outreach and educational programs to engage the broader community in both cities.

About Music of Remembrance

Founded in 1998 by pianist Mina Miller, Music of Remembrance (MOR) fills a unique role throughout the world by remembering the Holocaust through music. With concert performances, educational programs, recordings, and commissions of new works by some of today’s leading composers, MOR honors those of all backgrounds who found the strength to create even in the face of suffering, and those who had the courage to speak out against cruelty. We tell stories that communicate urgent lessons for today, and we look beyond the Holocaust itself to the experience of others who have been excluded or persecuted for their faith, ethnicity, gender or sexuality.

More information is available at www.musicofremembrance.org.

For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit www.arts.gov/about/news.

Publication Date

Thu, 2021-02-04 12:00